Long-term salvation

Rifle shooting is equally effective. At least the monsters' wails before they fall to the ground are pleasant enough to hear.

There were probably more than thirty armless people chasing Ruth. After Rod and Marian killed them all, no new enemies appeared from the fog. However, the cold and dark atmosphere never dissipated. A gaze full of hatred swept across all the uninvited guests who entered Silent Hill.

Rhodes replaced the magazine, turned his head slightly and said to the brave mother behind him:

"Ma'am, trespassing here is not a good idea. Also, stay away from this black liquid. It's very corrosive, at least not even a motorcycle helmet can protect it."

"I... I'm asking for my daughter, Sharon, the black-haired girl. Have you seen her?" Ruth asked nervously. She took a step back and clutched the corner of her clothes with both hands. "I met a crazy woman, old and dirty. Have you seen her? She said she-"

"calm."

Rhodes spoke calmly.

In front of those blue eyes, Ruth obediently shut her mouth, her chest heaving a few times as she composed her words:

"My daughter sleepwalks, and since I came here, I haven't seen her since..."

"Ma'am, your daughter doesn't sleepwalk. Don't look at me with such surprise. You will get the answer, right here, in Silent Hill," Rhodes interrupted rudely. He looked at Ruth sideways, took out a piece of chocolate from the bag at his waist and handed it to her. "Eat it and replenish your energy. You'll have a lot of running to do later."

"Thank you, really, thank you very much."

Ruth didn't hesitate. She unwrapped the chocolate and stuffed it directly into her mouth. As the sweet taste spread through her mouth, her panicked and frightened heart calmed down a little. But then worry filled her empty heart again. Her daughter, Sharon, must be cold and hungry now. Where was she? What would happen to her, those monsters? No! She would never suffer such an unfair fate. God owed her enough.

After licking the chocolate residue between her teeth, Ruth, still savoring the sweet aroma, took a few deep breaths and asked as she walked along the street with Rhode:

"Are you from the military? I never knew there were such young soldiers in the United States Army. And what exactly is Silent Hill? Does the government know about it? And that girl on the roof? She's walking along the roof... Oh my God! She can actually jump such a long distance!"

"So many people die every year because of curiosity, but they never learn their lesson."

Rhodes' tone was still calm, and his look made Ruth shrink her neck, but this calmness did give her a lot of sense of security here.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," Ruth said, changing the subject immediately. "I just thought that if the military were here, they would be able to find my daughter. They could be sheriffs, state troopers, or the FBI. I just want my daughter back, even if I have to be thrown in a jail cell."

After saying that, Ruth was silent for a moment, thinking about what happened to her after coming to Silent Hill, and said:

"I'm going to look for the school. Sharon might be there."

"Okay, we'll go with you." Rod handed the poor mother a dagger, who carefully took it and held it in her arms. "Take this. You don't look like you can use a gun, but in an emergency, at least it can be of some help... Why don't people like to hide a dagger in their boots? Like in Bruce Willis movies. I remember Die Hard was released last year."

"Who is that?"

"Well, nothing," Rod shrugged. He thought he might actually see a Bruce Willis-like movie character in this world, just like Irons.

"Just consider it my madness, Ms. Ruth."

"You know my name?!"

"Oh, please also regard what I just said as my nonsense, thank you."

Chapter 8 School (4K)

Rod lit a cigarette. He found that he now liked the Red Apple brand cigarettes a little bit. The cigarette box was old, but the only cigarette missing was the one he had just taken out.

Some Silent Hill ashes drifted into the cigarette box, causing Rhodes to frown.

"What are we waiting for, Mr. Rhodes?"

Ruth's voice drifted down the steps, and she couldn't wait to get in. On the way to the school, the mother already knew the names of the man and woman in front of her, but only their names.

"I'll go in first, then you, and finally Marian," Rod said, taking a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaling a little smoke as he threw it on the ground and stomped it out. He put away his cigarette case, pushed Ruth aside, reached out to open the school door, and walked in.

"Don't scream, don't run around, hold on to my chest strap - of course, if the time is really not right, you can just run away, find your daughter and get out of here. Stop, don't say thank you, being thanked too much will only make me addicted, it's a disease."

"Then I can only hope that you are not seriously ill."

The corners of Ruth's mouth curled up slightly, and her mood brightened considerably, causing Marian to chuckle. This faint laughter caught Ruth's attention, and she suddenly remembered that the girl's outfit, weapons, and skills behind her were exactly as she knew... what?

Some invisible force erased all sense of disharmony, allowing Ruth's doubts to dissipate in her worry for her daughter. Just as no one would doubt the rising and setting of the sun, no one would doubt the rationality of Nikki or other discordant beings' existence. It was as if everything was supposed to be this way.

Rhodes didn't care about these details. He was walking slowly along the school corridor. The dim light came in from the stained glass windows with the Silent Hill Church logo and projected onto the ground, but it became particularly dirty because of the ashes everywhere.

Maybe, it was supposed to look like this?

"There are no traces of humans or other creatures here." Rhodes looked around and reached out to wipe off a layer of ash from the wall. Even indoors, the ashes of Silent Hill were everywhere. "Even if there were, it was a long time ago, in another world. Don't ask me, ma'am, I don't know what's going on either."

"But maybe... someone can answer my questions," Rhodes said, reaching out to open the door of a classroom.

Almost the moment the door opened, Ruth felt a familiar presence, as if her daughter had been here before. She walked around Rhodes and slowly entered the classroom, finally stopping in front of a desk.

"..."

Rhodes did not enter the classroom. He stood outside the door, feeling a dark and cold aura coming from all directions.

"Commander, what should we do next? Follow this lady?" Marian asked. The handkerchief Rodgers had given her peeked out from her breast pocket, and it looked like she wasn't going to return it. Nikki held the machine gun and looked around vigilantly.

"I thought I heard footsteps."

"Uninvited guests are approaching. They are suffering and living in fear, but they do not deserve mercy," Rhodes said expressionlessly. He then leaned against the wall, ignoring the dust on it, and looked sideways at Marian and asked, "You, I'm asking you, Nikkis, whether you can engage in threatening behavior against humans? This includes causing any degree of harm in any form. You understand what I mean."

This was very important. Nikki in the game was restricted except for those special forces, and Rhodes knew very well that he would have to face more than just monsters from the other world in the future.

"If it is your command," said Marianne without hesitation, "I shall be faithful to you and obey whatever you command."

"Anything?" Rhode narrowed his eyes slightly, reached out and grabbed Marian's chin, forcing her to look up at him. It was soft and cool to the touch, making her want to let go.

The girl blushed slightly and replied softly:

"any."

"So much the better."

Rhode let go of his hand and turned around to meet the eyes of the trio at the end of the corridor:

They were dressed in dirty clothes and stood there for a few seconds. One of them was about to shout, but his mouth and nose were immediately covered by his companions - Rhodes shook the rifle in his hand at them.

A few minutes later.

Ruth, feeling a bit dazed by Aresa's dark past at school, walked out of the classroom. She covered her forehead with her hand and said helplessly:

"I just saw... who are these people?!"

Ruth was startled by three men kneeling against the wall, their heads in their hands and their bodies trembling slightly with fear. A birdcage containing an unknown bird was placed next to them. The cute little thing was combing its feathers in the cage carelessly.

As for Rod? He was smoking a cigarette and raised his chin at Ruth:

"The survivors in this small town said they came from the church, the only place of refuge in town. What about you? What did you gain?"

"I only saw dirty things," Ruth shook her head, her face full of fatigue. The girl named Alessa in the vision looked exactly like her adopted daughter. If she hadn't known that Silent Hill had been burned down decades ago, she would have almost thought that Sharon was suffering from these tortures:

"What do we do next?"

"We..." Rhode paused. He raised the muzzle of his gun slightly and was about to say something when he heard the system prompt:

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

A girl in a dark purple dress stood quietly at the end of the corridor, with undisguised hatred swirling under her pale face, like the never-extinguished underground fire in Silent Hill.

Alessa...

Only Rhodes saw her.

The bird in the cage made a shrill cry, fluttered around in the cage, and banged against the cage frantically.

A shrill alarm suddenly sounded!

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

The three men screamed, not even paying attention to Rhodes' gun - it was obvious that what was about to come would be more terrifying than bullets - they staggered and ran, trying to escape from the corridor where the paint on the walls had begun to peel upwards. Whenever they passed a classroom, the door would slam open and a foul smell would spew out.

The surrounding environment also changed. The classrooms and school corridors that were originally filled with ash were replaced by buildings constructed out of rusted metal plates. Under the dim light, people felt as if they were in an old flesh and blood factory.

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

"Don't worry about them," Rod reached out to stop Marian. He stepped back a few steps, and a box appeared before him. Ignoring Ruth's surprised look, Rod pulled out an M202 FLASH 66mm incendiary rocket launcher from the box... He actually wanted a flamethrower, as using a rocket launcher here was a bit dangerous.

"Hide behind us," Rhodes turned his head and told Ruth. He glanced at Alesha who had disappeared, "But I don't think anything serious will happen to you. Of course, you still have to run."

"What happens next?"

"What else could it be?" Rhodes shook his head. He heard faint screams in the distance. "There will be a fight, ma'am."

Dense swarms of black beetles are coming like a flood!

"Marian!"

"Yes!"

Nikki held onto Ruth's shoulders, picked her up amidst her screams, and ran back. Rhode took a leisurely puff of his cigarette, then calmly shouldered the launcher and pulled the trigger forward.

A shrieking incendiary rocket slammed into the insect swarm, fireworks exploding and white smoke spreading. The buzzing of insects echoed throughout the already wide corridor—and then another one! A wall of fire rose from the ground, temporarily blocking out the flesh-eating insects.

On the other side, Marian was slowly retreating with Ruth in her arms. When the smelly hot wind produced by the rocket igniting the swarm of insects swept over, they had to move back further.

"Run, Marian, this flame can't stop them for long!" Rhodes shouted loudly, and as he spoke, he fired another rocket forward.

Marian didn't hesitate when she heard the order. She turned around and prepared to run with Ruth in her arms.

"Wait, what is that?!" Ruth's voice suddenly rose. She hugged Marian's neck tightly with one hand and pointed with the other hand not far away in front of her:

A monster with a bowed body whimpered and came from the corner, its lower body constantly scraping against the ground, and its unsealed mouth constantly lolling out its tongue, appearing obscene and filthy. Wherever the monster's palms touched, blood vessels would sprout, overlapping and rupturing, and black beetles would emerge from them.

Colin, this is the name of the monster. It used to be the cleaner of this school. When Alesha was bullied and excluded by her classmates and fled to the toilet... Now, Colin has turned into a monster with no redemption and peace, and is suffering the most cruel punishment.

The monster was so terrifying, but Marian did not stop for a moment.

"Wait, wait! Aaaaaaaaah!"

For the first time, Ruth discovered that she could make such a shrill scream. She felt that everything around her was rapidly retreating, and only the monster was getting bigger and bigger, or in other words, getting closer and closer.

Just when the two sides were about to meet, Nikki suddenly kicked out and kicked the monster's head off!

The head with its tongue hanging out spun, drawing a nearly perfect arc in the air, and the blood splattered out, along with a sign, covering Ruth's face.

Ruth: “Hmm—”

"Ms. Ruth, are you okay?" Marian gently patted Ruth's back. Ruth had been put down and was retching. "But we still have to run. There are too many bugs."

"Okay...Ok..."

"What are you waiting for?" Rhodes came running up from behind, holding a handheld DV in his hand. "Marian, don't forget to take some photos if you have some free time. This is crucial to how much help we can get in the future."

Stepping on Colin's still-trembling body, Rhode fired several shots until the pool of filthy flesh beneath his feet completely rotted. Flesh from other directions on the walls and floor spread over and sucked it up, then black human-faced beetles emerged from it.

"Don't stay where you are, let's find a closed place to spend this time," Rod shouted. He kicked a beetle away and then picked up Ruth and threw her into Marian's arms.

Rhode ran fearlessly ahead, occasionally firing his rifle at beetles that got too close. Soon, he saw a warehouse at the end of the corridor, its door still open. It looked like a warehouse, but the road ahead was far from smooth.

The sound of heavy metal scraping against the ground was heard, and then a large, almost pale hand reached out and grabbed the corner of the wall, crushing the beetle crawling on it to death! A sturdy figure slowly emerged from the shadows, and heavy breathing could be heard from under the huge triangular helmet.

Pyramid Head, inspired by the Civil War-era executioner in Silent Hill, mostly represents punishment and executioner in the game. In the film, Pyramid Head doesn't have much deeper meaning, existing more as Aretha's protector.

"Tsk... you come so fast, Marian, rush in with Ruth! I'll deal with the pursuers!" Rhodes did not hesitate. The moment he gave the order, he turned back and fired the last incendiary rocket, and then threw the launcher to the ground.

"What? What is this?!"

Before Ruth could react, she saw the perspective suddenly shift upwards, and a huge blade passed before her eyes, and her terrified face was reflected on the jagged blade surface!

Dodging Pyramid Head's attack with a difficult backward slide, Marian stood up, holding Ruth in her arms, and ran forward. After running into the warehouse and putting Ruth down in her arms, Nikki turned on the camera and raised her machine gun with her other hand, ready to aim, but then she saw that Rod had actually jumped on the monster!

Rhode took advantage of Pyramid Head's attack on Marian and Ruth to leap from behind, grabbing the sharp corner of Pyramid Head's helmet and firing repeatedly at his back. As his flesh and blood burst, Pyramid Head twisted around, trying to throw Rhode to the ground, but Rhode took advantage of the force and swung in front of Pyramid Head, firing several more shots at the helmet.

The bullet hit the helmet, sending out bright sparks.

Rhodes didn't hesitate at all. He bent his knees and rolled backwards using his triangular helmet as a starting point, avoiding the grab of the strong arms while leaving a pulled grenade behind his head.

The sound of the explosion was heard along with the monster's painful groan, and the sharp whistling sound of fragments tearing through the air was even more pleasant.

After rolling twice on the ground, Rhode got up and looked at the tall monster recovering from its stagger. He said calmly:

"Alessa, I have something I want to talk to you about in person."

His answer was a machete strike without hesitation!

+++++++++++

Outside Silent Hill.

Gideon got out of the car and looked at the two jeeps that collided with each other in silence, while policewoman Sybil also stopped her motorcycle and walked forward with a flashlight to look around.

"No one's here."